Falling Feathers
by Lunan
Summary: There are three races in the world right? Wrong. There's another people, and their secrets will change the course of history, not to mention the history already written...  Y/J
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

xXx

For only meeting the man three times for brief intervals, Yuri could firmly state exactly how much he _hated _Duke.

The first time the silver haired man was making angsty comments about humanity and it's futility. Yuri simply brushed it off as the man being a bit off in the head. The second time was the incident in Keiv Moc when he 'calmed' the Aer Krene, where he was generally a superior and condescending bastard that sounded like he'd never had a good day, ever. That, one could take as him merely having that sort of personality.

But the third meeting was where Yuri made his decision about his opinion of the angsty man.

Duke was stupid enough to dispel an entire apathea in an enclosed space all at once.

The trip back through the desert was excruciatingly painful for Yuri after that. He didn't allow any sign of his discomfort to show in his movements or on his face, but it was there. Every injury he had acquired on this journey that had been healed by Estelle, meaning all of them, resurfaced just below the skin, slowly degrading until they would open fully again.

Some days it just wasn't worth getting out of bed, but he had no choice.

Sucks to be a Mana-producing humanoid species at times like this.

No, he wasn't Krytian or Entelexeia, they functioned on Aer. Mana as a general rule, regardless of type or element, was considerably denser than Aer. Humans could survive off of either, but could thrive more easily in high levels of Mana than the delicately balanced state necessary with Aer.

He was a different, if hidden, race that could live, and flourish, just about anywhere.

They called themselves Umoujin.

In their native language it meant 'feathered people'. To the rest of the world, they were a separate people and kingdom of humans, where in reality they infiltrated every corner of society masquerading as humans or Krytia, they were nosy that way.

Currently Yuri was pulling his 'human' act off quite well, but that mask was slowly being chipped away by the Aer fighting his body's Mana. Umoujin like himself did not take well to such massive infusions of Aer, especially when they couldn't get it out.

It was a condition called 'Aer Poisoning', and it wasn't pleasant.

xXx

Yuri was never happier to see the rings of an active barrier before in his life as the group came upon Mantaic, the desert city. True, it was rather small to be considered a 'city', but nobody out here really cared.

His elation was cut off sharply by the sight of Cumore's distinctive figure at the gate of town, yelling at a soldier who was loading citizens into a cart. It was obvious that the captain was intending to send the defenseless and unprepared people out into the desert like so many others.

Yuri nearly lost what was left of his control at the scene, but thankfully he convinced Karol to sabotage the carriage before that happened.

Breaking the coach only bought them a little time, but that evening, Yuri snapped.

It was deathly silent as the dark haired swordsman crept into Cumore's room. Like a black ghost he stood over the corrupt knight's bed, staring down at his relaxed sleep.

Yuri sneered. The man had enslaved hundreds and sent so many to their deaths, but not even his subconscious held any remorse if his sleep was undisturbed.

"Cumore..." he hissed, and with a jolt the captain sat bolt upright.

One look in the darkness and Cumore recognized Yuri instantly.

"L-lowell! What are you doing here?"

Yuri said nothing, standing over his enemy with his sword unsheathed. Cumore gave a gasp of fear and tumbled from his bed in his nightclothes, backing away on all fours.

"S-someone! Anyone! Help me!" he whimpered, before getting his legs beneath him and bolting for the door.

Outside, the panicked captain ground to a stop at the edge of a sand dune, where the side crumbled dangerously into a shifting morass of sand below. Watching in utter terror as his aggressor approached, he quivered in fear, and tried to bribe his way out of his upcoming death, money, prestige, reinstatement in the knights, but Yuri only pressed forward.

"N-no! Stay back you monster!"

"Coward." Yuri growled in a low, even tone. "How many times have you heard the same begging for mercy, and ignored it?"

Cumore's eyes went wide. "No! I am Cumore, Captain of the Imperial Knights, the one destined to become Commandant!"

Yuri only narrowed his eyes. "Well, than you can prepare Alexei his place in hell after you." he said slowly. "He'll be joining you soon enough."

Cumore snapped. In his paranoia he kept a special kind of 'aer pistol' on his person at all times. The small weapon shot concentrated blasts of aer to stun the victim. In this moment of fear for his miserable life he whipped out this pistol, and fired it point blank into Yuri's chest.

At first, he felt nothing, but suddenly a searing pain, different from the wretched burning he had been subjected to ever since meeting Duke in Yormgen, tore through him and three different old wounds ruptured open.

As Yuri collapsed Cumore regained his composure. "Well, I suppose your pathetic lowborn self is pathetic against my noble cunning Lowell." he said, and stooped to grab Yuri's sword, but failed due to it's deceptively massive weight. He floundered a moment, but then abandoned the sword for the dagger that Yuri kept stashed at the back of his wide sash, left exposed from it's hiding space when it had jostled free.

Cumore took the dagger and admired it's strange form for a moment. "How odd, that a commoner like yourself has such a magnificent example of those savage Umourian's bladework." he said. "Worse than you common trash, but at least they make a good blade."

With a sneer, he readied himself to stab Yuri's unprotected back, when an unexpected entity interrupted and Flynn Scifo approached.

"Captain Cumore!" he yelled, running towards his downed friend, causing Cumore to drop the blade, and it landed point first into Yuri's back, just behind the shoulder blade.

"_Aaarrrgghhhh_!"

Yuri's cry of pain resonated through the quiet area. Cumore panicked and wrenched the dagger out, grabbed Yuri by his hair, and held the blade to his throat.

"Don't come any closer Scifo!" he hissed. "Or your criminal friend dies!"

Flynn ground to a halt. "No! Release him Cumore!"

"I think not! This man has been a thorn in my side for too long! Just now he tried to kill me! Nothing you can do will save him!"

A small push of the dagger dug it's tip into Yuri's neck, blood beginning to trickle down pale skin, but a shrill cry like a bird startled them all.

"What in the world?"

There was the crucial moment. Cumore, unnerved, released his hold on Yuri, and he was rammed into by a whirl of feathers, disappearing into the darkness.

Stunned, Flynn stared at the space where his fellow captain stood, but spurred himself into action as the sand below his friend turned red.

"Yuri! Are you alright?" he asked, turning the wounded man over, but Yuri lay unresponsive. "Damn, he's unconscious, Sodia! Get over here!"

"Sir?" asked the lieutenant. "Is something...Lowell!" The female knight rushed over to her captain. "Sir Flynn! What happened?"

"Cumore attacked him, some kind of blastia weapon. I didn't see the entire exchange, but Yuri is in bad shape."

Sodia glared at her nemesis, but nodded. "He doesn't deserve it, but we should get him to the princess for healing. I'll help you carry him."

"Thank you, get his sword and that knife, we have to get to the inn."

"Understood."

Sodia struggled with the heavy blade for a moment, but managed better than Cumore had, slinging it over her armored shoulder and grabbing the bloodied knife.

"Permission to speak freely sir?"

Flynn did not turn his head, only moving forward, but he answered. "Granted."

"This knife is Umourian make, the style is unmistakable, where could Captain Cumore get such a thing?"

"He didn't, it's Yuri's." the captain said slowly, shifting the body in his arms. "He's had it as long as I've known him, he isn't going to be happy to know that scumbag used it against him."

"It's Lowell's? Where on earth did he get it?"

"I don't know, he never told me."

"It has a purple diamond in it!"

Flynn paused. "Diamond? I always thought it was glass."

"My father is a jeweler sir, I know a diamond when I see one." said Sodia, jogging slightly to catch up. "The cut is unique to dark violet diamonds, used to enhance the color and brilliance of the stone. I've never seen one set into the hilt of a blade before, but the setting around it has to be either white gold or platinum."

Flynn frowned. "This is troubling, Yuri is going to have a lot of explaining to do when he wakes."

"Undoubtably sir."

xXx

Estelle was distraught to see Yuri's bloody state when they woke her, and even more so when her healing arts seemed to cause him great discomfort, closing the wounds but leaving angry red welts. Karol was particularly panicky, but Flynn distracted him with the now cleaned knife once Yuri was resting in the next room.

"Young man, have you seen a blade like this before?" he asked, presenting the sheathed dagger to the boy. It took a bit of work freeing the sheath from the underside of Yuri's sash, as it was firmly wedged into the odd knot he used, but now the beautifully decorated scabbard was visible. Tucked with the knife was a deck of odd cards, but no one paid them much heed.

"Huh? Where did you get this?" Karol asked, taking the knife. "It's pretty."

"It's Yuri's, he's had it longer than I've known him. I was hoping that your experience could tell me what it is."

Karol turned the knife over in his hands slowly, examining the black lacquered metal sheath and the pattern of bright silver detail. The blade itself had characters of some type set into the spine with a different metal. Raven, his interest piqued, leaned over to study it as well.

"Well lookie here, I haven't seen that pattern in ages." he quipped. "That one's a classic, Umourian scroll pattern, nice inlay inscription."

"Really? That's Umouroi?"

Raven scoffed. "They call it _nihongo_ kid. Ridiculously complicated to read since it's got three different writing systems, but it sounds pretty. I met a guy from there once, great singing voice, but he had a knife like this, just not as pretty."

Estelle looked closer. "It looks like a ceremonial dagger I saw in a book once."

"Hardly. These things are fancy, but they're all about function. One little slice from these babies and you can lose your hand, easily. Sharpest little blades in the world, can split a hair like it's nothing and never lose their edges. My contact said they're marks of skill or rewards for notable deeds, the writing on the spine of the blade details what it was presented for."

"Are they rare?" asked Flynn.

"In the empire yeah. No one but the Umourian smiths can make these things."

Karol piped up. "I can see why, it's got the classic wave pattern in the metal for Umourian made weapons. The Soul Smiths guildmaster would kill to learn that technique."

Flynn frowned. "Is there any way of finding the smith that made this?"

Karol made a face. "No way. From what I heard most Umourian smiths put their maker's marks on the tongue of the blade, under the hilt. Even if we could take the hilt apart we won't be able to read the signature, they use a totally different language remember?"

"His name was Murasaki."

Everyone in the room jumped and turned to the doorway to see Yuri standing there, shirtless and leaning heavily against the frame. He looked utterly exhausted, and his pale skin now showed far more numerous red marks than earlier, each the shape of a large wound.

"Yuri! Are you alright?" asked Estelle, getting up and looking him over. "Do you hurt anywhere?"

Yuri patted her on the head gently, shaking his own head. "I'm sore all over princess, but there's nothing you can do about it."

"But Yuri-"

"No. No more healing artes." he said with such a tone of finality that any arguments Estelle had died before she could speak. "I just need to rest. There's so much aer in my body it hurts, give it time and it'll dissipate."

With that he made his way over to an empty chair and sat down heavily, slumping in exhaustion.

Flynn spoke first. "What was that you said before? That name?"

"Murasaki. Tencho Murasaki. He's the man that made that knife five hundred years ago, it's a family heirloom."

Flynn blinked. "Your family has an Umourian made blade of that caliber as an heirloom?"

Yuri looked at his long time friend through the fringe of his bangs. "You do realize that I was adopted, right?"

Flynn started a bit. "What?"

Yuri chuckled darkly. "I can't believe you don't remember, I've told you that a dozen times before."

"But Yuri, you have such a strong resemblance to them!"

"Happy coincidence. Mom and Dad are the same race as me, they just happened to live in Zaphias when I ended up there. I'm really from Sei-an Hei."

Raven jumped. "Sei-an? Isn't that the Umourian Capital?"

Yuri nodded. "Yeah, but it's Umou_jin._ 'Umourian' is a word the Empire made up."

Estelle gasped. "Oh Yuri! Why didn't you tell me you were Umourian? I could have been hurting you all this time!"

Everyone looked at her in confusion save Yuri and Judith.

"What precisely do you mean by that?" asked Judith.

Estelle looked flustered. "I read in a book once that many Umourians can have severe reactions to large quantities of aer, they get aer sickness much worse than the average person."

Judith nodded. "That is true. The majority of Umoujin produce _mana _instead of living off aer, since their unique abilities are mana based. The two different energies tend to fight one another, but mana tends to trap excess aer in order to convert it to useable form, high levels of trapped aer leads to the condition known as 'aer poisoning'." she explained solemnly. "You have it, don't you Yuri?"

Yuri remained silent, but gave the slightest nod.

"How long?" asked Flynn. "If you're sick, you should tell someone."

Yuri did not meet the captain's eyes. "I've been dealing with the symptoms for nearly ten years Flynn. Staying under a barrier blastia can give you a mild infection if you can't disperse it properly. My foster father was a trained doctor in energy based medicine, but I'm a lot more receptive to aer than normal. There's nothing you can really do about it."

Judith sighed. "I suppose I will have to take over healing Yuri Estelle."

Estelle looked up. "What do you mean Judith?"

The lancer gave a small smile. "I'm not really full Krytian. My father was only half, so the rest of me is Umoujin. I was born and raised in Sei-an with my mother's clan, the Yamamotou, who are known for their element-based healing artes."

Yuri laughed, startling the group. "Yamamotou? I knew you seemed familiar! You're Juu-chan!"

Karol snorted a laugh. "'Juu-chan'? What kind of name is that?"

"It's a nickname." Judith responded. "My best friend growing up called me that, right, Hoshino?"

Yuri smiled. "Guess you knew it was me all along, eh, Juu-chan? I didn't recognize you when we met at Gasfarost, you've changed, a lot."

"The last we saw of each other was almost twelve years ago, so I suppose change is a given thing. But yes, I did recognize you, I just wasn't sure if you even remembered."

Flynn was reeling. "Wait a moment, Yuri isn't your real name?"

Yuri shrugged, but flinched at the action as it pulled at the deep cut in the back of his shoulder. "Kind of is, kind of isn't. More than half our people have multiple names and aliases, it's not uncommon. I took the name Yuri to protect myself, and since I've been using it for eleven years it's as much a part of me as my first name, Hoshino. Just call me whatever you're comfortable with."

The captain seemed appeased at the admission, and stood up to leave. "I suppose this is good bye for now then Yuri. I must leave, for I have official business in Nordepolica. Take care."

With a swish of his cape tails, he was out the door. Yuri sighed heavily.

"Man, he says I changed, talk about being shortsighted." he muttered. "Can I have my knife and cards back? I'm going to sleep, we'll be heading out an hour after dawn."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

xXx

The next morning dawned brightly over Mantaic, a cheerful mood prevailing the air...

Until the sight at the cliffs sent shivers of fear through the town.

Thirty feet up, impaled to the solid rock wall, was the corpse of the late Captain Cumore. A spear of stone was what held up the body, made from what was identified as native rock 'grown' from the cliff face. Flynn's brigade was frantically trying to find the one that did it, but as Flynn was the only witness and all he saw was feathers, most were inclined to believe it was Phaeroh.

Yuri knew better.

Once Mantaic was out of sight he spoke up.

"It was an Umoujin." he said quietly. "I heard the _henshi_."

Rita looked at him curiously. "'Henshi'? What's that supposed to mean?"

Yuri grinned. "I'd show you if we weren't in such a monster filled area, sounds like that travel."

Judith gave a little giggle. "It's a kind of 'scream', and that's what henshi means. It's a cry that sounds like the shriek of a bird of prey, but it extends above and below the range of a human's hearing. If it echoes in a tight space it can destroy your hearing."

Karol's eyes lit up. "So it's a battle cry! Cool!"

Yuri chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair. "Maybe I'll show you later." he said. "But still, it had to be an Umoujin that killed Cumore, maybe an earth-adept."

"An earth-adept that's a strong enough flyer to lift a grown man?" asked Judith critically. "A touch hard to believe."

Yuri only shrugged and carried on.

xXx

They made it through the caverns with little major damage, but that blockade of knights they could have done without. By the time they crossed to the other side they only had two days before the first night of the new moon.

They camped about a day's walk from Nordepolica, exhausted from the fighting and long walk, especially Yuri.

Judith and Raven both noticed this change, as Yuri was usually the one with the most energy at the end of the day.

"Hey there, is somethin' wrong?" Raven asked from his spot beside the fire.

Yuri groaned and flopped to sit on the ground. Judith gathered him up into her lap, stroking his head. "You're a touch feverish Hoshino, what's wrong?" she asked softly.

"Hurts."

"What does?" asked Estelle.

"...everything."

Raven came over and put a hand to Yuri's forehead. "Yeah, you've got a fever alright, what the heck have ya been doing?"

Yuri made a face and turned his gaze to the fire. "Blame Duke." he said simply.

The group collectively blinked. Raven scratched his head, nonplussed. "What's Duke have to do with anything?"

"He's an idiot, that's what." Yuri growled. "Crystallized energy of any kind is volatile when dispersed too fast, and that drama queen was stupid enough to dispel that apatheia all at once."

Judith gave a soft gasp. "You absorbed it, didn't you?" she asked, wincing in sympathy when Yuri nodded. "You poor thing, you must be really hurting."

"Cumore's little toy didn't help it any either."

"Hold it, what the hell are you talking about?" demanded Rita indignantly. "What's this about Yuri absorbing aer? What's that supposed to mean?"

Yuri raised a faintly trembling hand and curled his fingers, a strange shroud of dark...light, danced in his palm.

Judith smiled sadly. "This is mana." she said, supporting the back of Yuri's hand. "Darklight mana to be specific. Strong attribute mana tends to both attract and fight against any other forms of energy. Formless aer is pulled to mana-bearing life, but the stronger the power, the greater the pull. I should have noticed something was wrong before when I didn't feel any aer after the apatheia was dispelled."

Rita studied the mana with wide eyes. "No way, that's pure mana? Is it always that dark?"

"No, this is just Hoshino's personal mana element, it isn't common."

"So, this mana attracts aer?" asked Rita. "How is that making him sick?"

Judith sighed heavily as Yuri closed his fist and settled back into her embrace. "Think aer-sickness, but many times worse. All that energy is trapped in his body with no way to get out, and it's fighting against his natural energy." she said, humming softly. "It's probably best we get to Nordepolica soon so he can rest properly, his immune system is probably suffering from the stress."

"It is." Yuri said, opening his hand to reveal a small dark crystal in his palm. "I can't even channel the aer out."

Rita eyed the stone. "So that's solid mana?"

"Take it if you want it."

A manic gleam shone in the researcher's eyes as she took the crystal. "Thanks! I can't wait to study it!"

Yuri laughed. "Nice to know it makes you happy." he said, sitting up. "I'm going to try something here."

He shifted a little further back from the fire and sat cross legged, pulling the deck of cards they saw the other night from the back of his sash.

"What's that?" Karol asked, eyeing the design on the purple-backed cards. A symmetrical design reminecient of a spell circle stood out brightly in silver against the dark background, flashing in the light as Yuri gently shuffled them. They were larger and longer than normal game cards, but they couldn't tell much else because Yuri was holding them face down.

Yuri continued to shuffle, ignoring his companions' questions, then lay out an five point circle with three cards in the middle, the remainder off to the side. Finally he looked up to answer Karol.

"These are Tarot cards. You've probably seen fortune tellers use decks of Tarot to divine the future, but most of them are fakes with no powers. This deck is hundreds of years old, passed down in my family, so it has real connections to spirits that can answer the questions I ask them." he explained. "Most of the time I get good enough answers if I ask the right questions, like the nature of an enemy."

Estelle looked absolutely fascinated. "Wow, can you tell the future this way?"

Yuri shook his head. "Not really. The future is too fluid and chaotic to predict, spirits can only give you informed guesses based on what they see in the world. Right now I'm trying to see if they know what's been causing that nagging feeling, like something bad is going to happen."

Judith hummed thoughtfully. "So you have been feeling apprehensive as well then?"

"Yeah, let's see if I get some answers."

Yuri flipped over the top card of the circle. The face of the card was bordered in silver, nihongo script flowing around the edges and a gilt star at the top. The bottom bore a set of symbols and what looked like a name on a unfurled scroll. The field of the card was dark, and the image of a young boy in jester's costume holding a flowing veil stood on one foot, as if caught in mid-twirl.

Estelle, Rita, Raven, and Karol each made sounds of awe at the beautiful artwork on the card, but Yuri and Judith looked grim.

"What's the matter?" asked Raven. "It looks harmless, if anything, it's cute!"

"'Erase'." said Yuri. "The Heaven's Tarot all looks pretty, but many of the cards are symbols of danger and disaster. To get 'Erase' here is a very bad thing, it stands as a symbol for death. I was asking about possible events that might be what's causing the feeling, and this is the most direct answer."

He moved to the right-most card, and flipped it. This one had the picture of a young figure with short hair, neither male or female, holding a drawn bow with a nocked arrow pointed down.

"The 'Arrow', an attack from afar, means the death will be by indirect or distant means, could be poison or hired killers."

The next, the left-most card, bearing only the image of an elaborate pattern in many colors.

"'Illusion', lies and deceit. Someone's going to cause the death by lying, half truths, or misinformation."

The bottom cards were turned at the same time. The left had a male figure in costume in a fighter's stance, the right a drawing of a maze.

"'Fight' and 'Maze', these illustrate the place or event this is going to happen. 'Fight' symbolizes conflict, and the 'Maze' in this case can be literal, so we can assume it's talking about the coliseum."

Raven looked thoughtful. "So, someone is going to cause someone to get killed because of lying to a third person at Nordepolica, creepy."

"What do the middle cards mean?" asked Estelle.

"The three cards may describe either the killer, or the victim. I'm going to guess it'll be the victim."

The first center card was an androgynous cloaked figure holding an hourglass. The second, a katana suspended by chains. The third, an elegant male figure with long black hair, crowned with a crescent moon.

"'Time', "Sword', 'Dark'."

Karol just about panicked. "Ack! It's talking about you Yuri!"

Yuri shook his head. "No Karol. I'm never referred to with 'Time'. 'Time' means something ageless, inevitable, or wise. I'm guessing it might be talking about Belius, she's old and wise, runs the coliseum, since 'Sword' represents challenges and skill, and stays hidden in the darkness."

Raven looked somewhat pained. "You think Belius is going to die?"

Yuri shrugged. "Her being attacked is highly likely. Death omens containing means of indirect strikes mostly mean someone is gearing after the victim." he said lightly. "I seriously doubt Belius would go down easy, she's a tough one, and readings towards the future are never concrete. Honestly, I wouldn't dwell on it too much."

The group seemed to relax. Estelle however, had a question.

"Yuri, do you think you could ask about who could be causing this? Or why they're after Belius?"

Yuri hummed, concentrating. "Well, that would be a fairly stable pattern, but I can't guarantee a viable answer. The sentient mind is always shifting, so not even spirits can always get a solid grasp on an individual's intentions. I managed to foretell an attack on me before the bastard could kill me in my sleep, but I didn't get away unscathed either. That was the week I left the knights, seniority doesn't like rookies getting promoted."

Estelle blinked, as if remembering something. "Wait a moment, that was you?"

"Who was what?" asked Judith.

Estelle looked pained. "There was an incident at the castle involving some new soldier being promoted to sub-lieutenant only two months after induction. From what I heard, the new officer was attacked in the night and almost died, the attacker was not punished for some reason."

Yuri scoffed. "The asshole was the son of a noble, the pansy couldn't last five minutes in a decent fight. They had all the evidence against him, the drugs he doused me with and the knife he drove into my gut, but he got let off because his daddy had connections."

Raven growled. "Dishonorable discharge is the absolute minimum punishment for assaulting an officer." he said, eyes hard. "He should have been imprisoned for at least ten years for attempted murder. I'm surprised he got off for that, but then again, he's from nobility and you were from the lower quarter, they tend to let things slide in those situations."

Yuri only nodded and began shuffling the cards again, only this time they all noticed a shimmer around his hands as he did so. Finished shuffling he lay a pyramid pattern on the ground, one at top, two below, three center, and two below each corner.

A shudder rippled through the ground, barely perceivable, but there. Karol piped up first. "What was that?"

"That's normal. The energy that was in the deck just dissipated, and it just creates a small shockwave. You missed it the first time."

Rita looked on with comprehension in her eye. "Oh I get it! You charge the cards with your mana to contact the spirits that control them! Is that how you do readings?"

"Normally yes. You channel your energy as you focus on the question you want answered, most other methods rely on blind luck. Now, can we focus on target please?"

Pointing to the top card, he began. "This card will represent the goal, what he or she is aiming for." he flipped it, and gasped.

The card was breathtaking. A male figure in the traditional royal garb of the Umoujin that fairly glittered as if it were the night sky with tiny stars of silver ink, long dark hair bound high on the head with jeweled ornaments, and a face that could only be described as masculinely angelic. There was a golden sun above his head, a pale golden moon at his feet, and the familiar symbol that was recognizable over the world as the star Brave Vesperia on his chest.

It was the single most detailed card they had ever seen.

"It's beautiful..."

Yuri however, swore under his breath. Only Judith understood what he was saying, but the look on her face made the others not want to know themselves.

"Yuri? What does it mean?"

"It's 'Heavens'. It means absolutes and unity along with ideals and perfection, to have this as a goal means he's after the highest thing possible, absolute control, or he's gearing after me."

Rita scoffed. "You? Seriously?"

Yuri leveled a slow breath. "This picture is the traditional image of Darklights, who are named Vesperia by tradition. There is only one Darklight wielder every three generations, and I'm the current one. This is the card that refers to me nearly all the time."

"Are Darklights really that special?"

"Darklight is fusion between the two most potent and polar opposite energies." said Judith. "So it's not only rare, it's extremely powerful. Light and Darkness are opposing forces, but cannot survive without each other. Now can we move on?"

Yuri obliged and flipped the next two cards below the top. "These should tell his reasons why." The left was young male figure in theatric desert garb, the right, a robed being with folded hands and mouth open, as if singing. "'Sand' and 'Voice'. 'Sand' is often a symbol of greed or wealth, while 'Voice' represents control and authority. We can assume he wants control for his own ends."

He flipped the next three cards. "These describe the person."

The first, a child in heavy robes, the face downcast.

"'Rain', oppression. This person is controlling to the point of cruelty, or is oppressed, not likely the second one."

The second, a figure in loose garments, wisps of white surrounding it.

"'Mist', obscurity or illness. He has either lost his way in life or is ill in some fashion."

The last was a male in armor, bearing a sword and shield, but oddly, it was upside down.

Yuri grimaced. "The 'Soldier' upside down is a bad sign. The 'Soldier' means duty and self sacrifice, to see it upside down when the deck is purposefully shuffled right side up carries strong meaning. Together, these cards tell me the one they are telling me about is someone that carried great ideals and a sense of moral integrity, but lost them to madness and greed."

Raven flinched. "Ouch, not good. Any way to tell if he's in any sort of power?"

Yuri merely leveled a blank look through his bangs at him. "Think, he's causing this much trouble all over the empire, you can't be a nobody to orchestrate something that widespread."

The archer was thoroughly chastened.

"Next, the lower left pair is the tool he will use."

The 'Time' appeared, with another card that bore the image of a angelic child.

"'Time' and 'Heart'. Apatheia. Now the lower right is what he will use the tool to do."

These cards made Yuri nervous. The first was a figure bound in chains with an ornate lock, the keys in a hand stretched above the head, the card upside down, and the second was a male that looked like some cross with a beast made of lightning.

"Reversed 'Lock' combined with 'Thunder'. To release a trapped chaos."

Judith was equally nervous. "A man bent on domination fueled by insanity using apatheia to release destruction upon the world. This can't be good, but we don't really know who it is for certain."

Yuri sighed tiredly. "Well, at least we have some idea where to start." he said, beginning to pick up the cards. He paused however when the top cards of the remaining deck shimmered against the firelight.

Bemused, he picked them up. One was the image of a woman whose head was bound in ribbons with a hand upraised to her lips, 'Silence', and the other a bright figure holding a young plant in outstretched hands, 'Restore'.

"'To sacrifice the bringer of new life'." he murmured. "I'll keep that in mind."

With that, put the deck away and got ready for sleep, not speaking again until they set out the next morning after dawn.

XxX

AN: Okay, the tarot deck is completely taken from Cardcaptors, just tweaked a bit to be more gender neutral, don't pester me about it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The next afternoon the party arrived in Nordepolica. First checking in at the coliseum to make sure they had an appointment with Belius they went directly to the inn. Yuri wasted no time getting to the baths, and afterwards he collapsed on a bed to sleep until nightfall. The rest of the group followed his example and cleaned up before taking a nap.

That evening they all woke to find Yuri sitting up at the table reading his cards again, his expression pained. When they asked him what the cards said, he only shook his head and put the cards away.

-xXx

The walk to Belius' offices was quiet, far quieter than usual for Nordepolica. For some reason there were no parties, no gatherings, hardly any movement at all. When they reached Natz, who guarded the doors to the Duce's chambers, Yuri asked him why the city was so quiet.

"The three nights of the new moon are city-wide evenings of silence. Private ceremonies are held to honor the dead, according to the old traditions of dedication to the stars. Duce Belius began the tradition in the coliseum itself, and the city has taken it on themselves."

Yuri gave the veteran a small smile. "That's an Umoujin tradition, the new moon nights of midsummer to view the star river in respect of the dead and to honor the spirits. It's nice to know Belius brought it here."

Natz looked a touch confused. "Umoujin? Truly? I was under the impression that it was an Entelexia ritual."

"I grew up in Sei-an, it's Umoujin." said Yuri. "Still, we're here to see Belius, can you let us through?"

"Ah yes, the ambassador from the Don, he may pass. But I am afraid the rest of you must remain here."

Rita just about threw a fit. "What! How can you say that? Let us through old man!"

Judith sighed and stole Rita's scarf, wrapping it around her mouth to silence her in a few deft motions. "Be quiet, this man can have us thrown out of the city."

"Tell Belius that Hoshino Vesperia and Judia Yamamotou are here to see her with their companions." said Yuri. "We will wait here for her response."

Natz looked doubtful, but complied. Three minutes later he came back in a rush, apologizing profusely and ushering them upstairs.

The great, inhuman figure silhouetted against the faint light of the night sky startled the party, save Yuri and Judith. Karol looked ready to bolt, Raven tensed, and the girls froze, but Yuri stepped forward.

"Konbanwa, Belius-dono." he said in a low voice. "It's been a long time Obaa-san."

Belius turned her vulpine head to his voice, the great trailing antenna of hair whispering against her thick mane of fur, multiple tails of blue and ruddy gold swaying mindlessly. When she spoke, it was with a voice laden with age and experience, rough but motherly.

"Young Hoshino, I have not seen you since you were a child, little star." she said, a twitch of a smile on her weathered face and in her dark eyes. "You've grown quite handsome these past ten years."

Rita nearly facefaulted. "Hold it, hold it! You know this monster?"

Judith laughed. "Know her? She babysat us as children! She's not a monster, she's an Entelexiea."

Belius turned to the lancer next. "Little Judia? My word you have become such a beauty, makes it hard to believe you were such a scrawny little thing as a child." she said with a laugh in her voice. "Why did you not send word to me it was you two? I would have arranged to meet you far sooner."

Yuri's mouth quirked in a grimace. "I was sort of in hiding Obaa-san, any special treatment is a bit of a givaway. But regardless, we met your brother in Dahngrest."

Belius narrowed her eyes in a glare. "Phaeroh? What has he done?"

"Nearly killed the Imperial Princess for one."

The Duce growled. "That blasted featherbag! I told him to leave the FullMoon alone!"

"He has issues."

"Undoubtably. I assume the Princess is looking for answers?"

Estelle jerked out of her silence. "Yes Ma'am, I wish to know why he attacked me, why he called me 'an insipid poison'."

"And I have a letter from the Don for you." piped up Raven. "I was hoping to get this too you before any deep discussion started, sorry for interrupting."

Belis merely gave an amused chuckle. "Bring it here then."

Raven handed her the letter and backed away as she read it. "If you forgive my asking, how exactly are you involved with the Don?"

The entelexeia made a rumbling noise in her chest. "I owe him a great debt from the time of the war, we have been acquaintances ever since."

"So, what's in the letter?"

"Whitehorse has asked me for his assistance in dealing with Phaeroh. It seems even a great man like himself would have trouble with my brother's attack on his city."

"Wonderful, just what we needed."

"Calm archer. I would not abandon my ally in his time of need, so I will assist in this matter with my brother."

Estelle smiled. "Then madam, what exactly is the 'FullMoon'?"

Belius huffed. "There are humans born into this world that-"

A slam of the chamber door startled them all. Tison and Clint of the Hunting Blades stood in the doorway.

Yuri palmed his face. "Oh great, not this!"

"There you are!" shouted Tison. "Leader of monsters, origin of evil!"

Yuri growled and launched a blast of pure mana at the man. "Shut the hell up! You don't know what you're talking about!"

Tison was thrown back into the massive doors, but he got up again, hardly fazed.

Clint stood impassively, arms crossed. "You keep monsters for use in your coliseum, you are an enemy of humanity! For that, you will die you monster!"

Yuri threw another blast straight at the man's head for that. "Did someone drop you as a baby or something? Belius is a sentient being! Much more than I can say for you right now!"

The large muscled man took longer to recover from the strike, but when he did, he leapt forward and brought his massive sword around and across Yuri's exposed back.

Blood spattered in a wide arc as Estelle and Judith screamed, watching their friend fall to the floor harshly from the blow.

"You side with the monster, known enemy of human life, you forfeit your own with your actions." Clint said, bringing his sword down in readiness to cut off Yuri's head. "You do not deserve even the swift death I will bring you."

Yuri chuckled darkly from his position. "Heh heh, wanna bet?"

Everyone in the room flinched as a series of wet snapping noises came from the dark haired man as he shifted, hunching his back slightly.

Judith's eyes widened in fear. "Hoshino! Don't! Don't do it!"

"Too late."

Blood welled up as dark shapes sprouted from the backs of his shoulder blades, spraying Clint and making him recoil in shock, and finally with one last vile crack a pair of long, black wings unfurled, dripping blood.

"Monster..." gasped Clint, and it turned into a gurgle as Yuri grabbed his throat.

"No. Umoujin."

With that simple statement he flung the guild master out the window, breaking it and following after, leaving a trail of blood and shattered glass.

Judith rushed to balcony in tears. "Hoshino!" she screamed. "Aunt Belius! We have to stop him! He'll kill himself!"

Belius looked grim. "His wings must yet be untested to have fledged with that many sounds, we should hurry to the arena floor." she said, batting Tison away and out the window. "I sensed illness about him, any further harm could be disastrous. Help Natz, I will go to Hoshino."

Judith swallowed her tears and tore out the door and down the stairs, the rest of the party following.

"What the heck was that?" asked Karol, running after her as she took down invading monster hunters ruthlessly.

"Fight now, questions later kid!" barked Raven, cutting down an axeman. "We've got to get to the heart of the problem!"

In their collective state of panic they tore through all opposition, reached Natz, and rallied the Pallestralle guildsmen to the arena floor.

The sight that greeted them there was nothing short of horrific. Belius still doing battle against Clint, but Tison had Yuri subdued by a death grip on the bloody wings. The four of them were surrounded by bodies both human and monster, the tiled floor of the arena almost completely awash with shed blood.

Tison was laughing madly as he held Yuri's wings together at the joints with one hand, a position that strained the already injured bases where they connected to his back, ramming his fist again and again into the bones of the left wing until the most sickening crack resounded throughout the coliseum.

The most horrible, gut-wrenching scream of agony tore through the air, and Yuri fell limp in his tormentor's grip.

Both Judith and Belius snapped at the same time. The Duce no longer held back her strength and batted Clint away like a ragdoll and Judith rushed forward to bodily slam Tison clear across the arena with the broadside of her halberd.

"Hoshino!" they both cried, Belius taking him in her arms like a child.

The Duce held him close and prodded the damaged wing. "It seems it has dislocated, not broken." she growled. "But regardless, they will pay for this injustice!"

Estelle came forward across the sea of corpses, already glowing with her healing artes. "Just hold on! I'll heal his wounds!"

Judith panicked. "Estelle no!"

It was too late. The formula of the princess's special arte began to resonate with Belius. The pained entelexeia had only enough time to shove Yuri into Judith's hold before she lost control, thrashing about ferally.

"For the love of the gods, please, stop me!" she cried. "Kill me!"

Yuri stirred in Judith's arms. "What the hell is happening?"

"Belius is losing control! She'll kill everything around her if we don't stop her!"

Yuri swore. "Shit! Judia! Set my wing! Now!"

The lancer blanched, but complied, ramming the bone back into it's socket to his pained cry. With astonishing speed he stood again and picked up his sword, charging into battle with a yell.

Belius thrashed with teeth and claws, trying to catch Yuri's darting figure as he flew circles around her. The rest of the party rushed to help, joined by a blonde man that Raven snagged earlier.

It took their combined efforts to put the Duce down and pin her to the floor. She struggled, but had enough control to speak.

"Hoshino, please, kill me."

Yuri laid a hand on her head, kneeling at her side. "I can't..."

"Please little prince, you must." she said, eyes pained. "I do not want to become the monster that so many believe me to be. Take my apatheia and protect it from the greed of our enemies, if nothing else, I beg you."

"I can't! You're family to me!"

"As are you to me little one, but you must before I lose myself, I do not want to die by anyone else's hands."

A single tear fell from Yuri's closed eyes. They opened, revealing not the storm grey they were before, but the color of his pure Darklight mana, darkness veiling violet light. He stood, taking his sword in both hands he raised it above his head and wreathed it in mana.

"As you wish."

A single stroke severed the entelexeia's spine, and in a flash of blue energy a pure gem lit from an inner light appeared, the crystallization of Belius' life force.

"Oyasumi nasai, Belius." he said, closing her glassed eyes and taking the apatheia. "We have to leave, now."

"W-why?" asked Karol, shaking.

"The guilds will be in an uproar over this. The Duce is dead from the actions of at least two or three major guilds, with Harry here leading the band from Altosk people are going to be gunning for Whitehorse's head." Raven said gravely. "We need to get there first."

-xXx

Leaving the coliseum was not as easy as they hoped. The harbor was blockaded by Imperial ships, and Flynn got in the way.

The captain noticed the party's approach, but was shocked to see the bloodied and feathered appendages on his friend's back.

"Yuri?"

"Move aside Flynn!" Yuri ordered, lashing out with a hand and Flynn was forced back while still yards away. "We don't have time for this!"

"What in the world is going on?" Flynn demanded. "We received reports of a great monster in the coliseum that had apatheia, but here you are with...wings of all things!"

Yuri growled. "Belius is that so-called monster, and she's dead! You and the guilds got incomplete information! When I find out who fed you that he or she is dying a very painful death! Now move! We've got to get to Dhangrest, if the Don dies than any stability we've got is as good as gone!"

Flynn was shoved to the side, but he caught the tip of Yuri's wing, only to stare in horror at the blood drenched feather that came away in his grasp.

With the captain sufficiently distracted they made their way to their ship, Harry in tow thanks to Raven dragging him along. The navigator, Tokunaga, looked up from the helm, took one glance at Yuri's wings, and just about fell over himself.

"Kami-sama! What in blazes happened?"

"No time! Set sail for Dhangrest!"

Tokunaga jumped to attention and pulled the ship away at record speed, slipping through the blockade before it could close, the new engine somehow boosted to new speeds.

A cry brought everyone's attention to Yuri as he collapsed, the apatheia in his hands reacting and surging aer.

Judith screamed and tore the crystal from his grasp, but the damage was done. Yuri lay unconscious and bleeding far worse from earlier wounds. Frantic, she pulled out her weapon and began twirling it in what Rita recognized as a spell pattern.

"What the? Judith knows magic?"

The spell circle below the lancer glowed an ethereal green as she spoke. "Gentle winds from the four corners, grant me thy graces, Healing Gales!"

A rush of wind mana surged and enveloped Yuri, forcing the worst of the bleeding to stop. Gasping for breath the lancer fell to her knees, checking her friend.

"Raven! You have medic training right? Help me!"

The archer sprang to attention and scurried forward. Tokunaga disappeared below deck long enough to grab the ship's medical kit. Together the three of them bandaged the grievous wounds and they took the unconscious man below deck.

Judith sat at Yuri's side with visible tears in her eyes. Looking up to the others she gave a shuddering breath before speaking. "We have to get him to a trained Umoujin healer." she said. "There has to be at least two or three skilled ones in Dhangrest, anyone else would only kill him."

Raven looked grim. "Is it that bad?" he asked.

Judith nodded.

Estelle was distraught. "Is this all my fault?"

The lancer stood and gently flicked the princess in the forehead. "Don't be stupid Estelle. You had no idea that your artes would affect Belius the way they did. If it is anyone's fault, it would be mine for not telling you about the dangers."

The pinkette sniffled. "What do you mean?"

Judith sat back down with a sigh, gently stroking Yuri's exposed wings. She asked Rita earlier to perform a controlled water arte to clean them of the worst of the blood, so all that was left was to preen them properly. Judith combed her fingers through and around the feathers as spoke.

"The Child of the Full Moon is a unique individual that appears roughly at the same time as each Darklight bearer. Supposedly they are tied by the energies that they embody, so when Hoshino was born they knew a Fullmoon would be born either a few years earlier or later. Since the Fullmoon is usually born in the Imperial family, we had no means of getting to them to tell."

"Then, you knew?" asked Rita indignantly. "Why didn't you say so before and save all of us the pain of tracking down Phaeroh?"

"It isn't common knowledge." said Judith. "Very few people are told this secret, only the royal families of each kingdom, the entelexeia, and the guardian clans are given all the details. I was only told because I was Hoshino's closest friend and belong to a guardian clan, but I don't know everything."

"Ah, so you're sworn to secrecy then?" asked Raven, hand on his chin. "Sort've makes sense, but you'll have to tell us what you do know, we don't want a repeat of this fiasco."

"True."

"So spill it!" demanded Rita.

"I will. But first, do you know the legend of Brave Vesperia?"

"The siblings that ended the great calamity thousands of years ago?" asked Estelle. "I remember that legend, it was my favorite bedtime story as a child."

"It is no mere legend. The 'siblings' really did exist. According to our records, the first Darklight was a man called Vesperia, who had a sister named Mitsuki. Mitsuki died giving birth to her daughter, and Vesperia raised the girl. This daughter is officially known as 'Child of Full Moon', child of Mitsuki, which means 'full moon'. After saving the earth from destruction Vesperia returned to the Umouroi, founding the current royal lineage, while Tsukiko remained with humans, where we believe she became the founding of the human royal line. Her power of Aer is what is passed down to female children of the imperial family."

Karol blinked, then jumped up. "Wait a minute! You said Vesperia founded the Umourian royal line, and that Darklights are his decendants..."

"What are you getting at Karol?" asked Raven.

"If what Judith says is true, Yuri's a prince!"

Everyone in the room started in shock.

"Yuri's a...prince?" Estelle said slowly. "Is that true Judith?"

"Yes."

Each person not already sitting sank to the floor. "Him? A prince? You've got to be kidding me!"

"I'm not joking Rita." said Judith. "I told you before that Umourian children are taught to blend in, and none more so than the royal family. More than two dozen princes and princesses have been captured over the centuries to be used as leverage or living weapons. Very special powers come often to the family, so survival by hiding is the best defense they have until they grow into their powers enough to defend themselves."

Estelle looked at Yuri's unconscious form. "I guess that would work, hiding in plain sight. Most of the time, you would think a prince or princess would try to hide among the nobility, but Yuri lived in the lower quarter, the opposite."

"Function over form Estelle, that is how we do things. Every child is taught to survive alone at a young age, and Hoshino was no exception. He and his younger brother took to it very well."

"He has a brother?"

"Two brothers. Yue is eighteen now, but Cerebus was only three when Hoshino vanished. I haven't seen either of them for two years."

Estelle smiled. "Do you think when this ordeal is over we might go to see them? I'm sure Yuri misses his family."

"Undoubtably, but first we have to head off a guild war. Keep the ship at top speed on course for Dhangrest, when we get there, Tokunaga must disable the new engine, the formula is highly unstable."

"How can you tell?" asked Rita.

"It reacted to the apatheia, a bad sign. Formulas that cause reactions like that pull in more aer than the energy they really produce. It's imbalances like that that cause distortions, and Estelle's power is supposed to be of a similar phenomenon. Also, if Hoshino gets caught in any more aer backlash it could prove fatal."

The group nodded grimly. Rita went topside to examine the blastia while the rest settled down to keep watch over Yuri and get what sleep they could. At the speed they were traveling at it was likely they would reach Dhangrest in little more than thirty hours, what had to be a record for a trip that normally took three to four days on a standard ship.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Morning dawned a bloody red, hanging clouds tinged a depressing hue. Judith stood at the ship's prow, gazing into the sky.

"'The sky mourns, tears of gold and blood in grief for a beloved lost.'" she recited. "'You who grieve below on land tinged dark with death. Cry 'sacrifice' for peace as we bleed.'"

Rita came forward from the back of the deck. "Pretty sad poem, what's it from?"

Judith did not turn. "It's from a collection of poems written in the last war. That particular one was written by our current queen, Hosenka."

"Yuri's mother?"

"Yes."

Rita leaned against the rail. "You seem to know her."

"I do, Hoshino and I were very close growing up. I spent half of my days in the palace, she made a point of watching over us herself."

"Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever heard you call him Yuri."

Judith gave a her companion a small smile. "I made it a point not to. I recognized him right away, but he has such a good poker face that I couldn't tell if he knew it was me or not." she said softly, turning around. "I'd better help him get ready, we will arrive in less than six hours."

Rita shook her head. "Six hours? Why start now?"

"He's wounded, ill, and not going to be able to move quickly. We have to start now or we'll be rushing later."

Down below Yuri was just waking up. Estelle and Karol fussed over him as he blearily raised his head from the pillows.

"Yuri, how are you feeling? Are you hurting anywhere?" asked Estelle. "Do you need anything?"

Yuri only swatted blindly at her, as if batting away something, mumbling incoherently. Judith laughed and patted his face with a damp cloth. "Ohayo Hoshino-kun. Wake up sleepyhead."

"Ara? Juu-chan?" Yuri blinked, and sat up slowly, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "What's going on?"

"We'll be in Dhangrest in a few hours, you need to get ready to meet the guilds. Do you have anything presentable to wear?"

Yuri yawned widely and flicked his wrist, a bundle of dark fabric appearing in a flicker of light to his hand. He dumped this cloth in Judith's hands and repeated the procedure twice more, one other cloth parcel and a decorative wooden jewelry box.

Raven raised a brow. "What was that?"

"'Hammerspace'." said Judith. "Don't ask me why it's called that, but it's a fold in space around a person that can hold innumerable items. You only need a measure of mana control to access your personal space."

Raven laughed. "So that's why the kid never loses his scabbard when he flings it away the way he does, and how you always have things ready out of nowhere."

"Exactly, how do you think I carry my spears?"

Judith did a similar thing and pulled out three spears cheekily before a wooden box, two large bundles of clothes, and a standard medic's case.

Using the medic's case first she redressed Yuri's wounds and bound them tightly, then gently coaxed his wings to recede into his back once more. It wasn't a pleasant procedure, with nearly as many cracking and wrenching sounds as when they emerged, and seemed to cause Yuri just as much pain as before.

That done Judith gave the swordsman a potion for the pain and set about combing his impressive dark hair.

Rita and Karol looked rather ill from the horrid noise Yuri's wings made, but they were still curious.

"Hey Yuri? How do those huge wings fit in your back?" asked Karol, prodding ever so gently at the now noticeable ridges behind Yuri's shoulderblades. "Is that normal for Umourians?"

"Yes, they're normal." replied Yuri, his voice low. "Hardly any of us are born without them. They are partially made of our mana, so their physical mass is very low. It gets easier to fledge the more you do it, but living in Zaphias doesn't go well with flying."

Rita made a face. "So that nasty cracking sound is because your wings are stiff? That's a bit extreme."

"Think of it as fragments of bone joined by 'muscles' of energy. If you haven't mastered flight there isn't much power holding your incorporeal wings together, so it takes more energy to reform them." said Judith. "Late fledging like Hoshino's is painful, with so many untested muscles and raw nerves. The bloodloss and aer poisoning didn't help either."

With Yuri's hair tamed and in a loose tie the lancer helped him into a set of beautifully worked robes over dark pants that created a long and flowing silhouette. An over robe of even finer quality went over it, the bell-like sleeves long enough to brush the ground and the wrist length enough to obscure his hands.

"Wow, where on earth did you get those clothes?" asked Estelle. "They're beautiful."

"My younger brother Yue brought them to me when he visited me last. These clothes arewhat I would be wearing to my duties as Umoujin Crown Prince."

"Really? Do you have a crown?" asked Harry, the guildsman. "I've wondered if the Umourian royalty was anything like the Empire."

"Hardly. The royal family doesn't wear crowns, we wear heirloom ornaments that are restricted to only us. As Vesperia, only I can wear the royal dark diamonds."

The jewelry box contained hairpins set with purple diamonds and platinum, a pendant with the Vesperia star crest, several rings, ear clips, and hair beads. Judith worked his hair into a high tail and put in two of the hair pins, clasping the long locks at the side with silver tube beads. With the hair done she opened her own jewelry box, which contained cosmetics, and carefully covered a dark red welt that marred his right cheek.

"What's with the makeup?" asked Karol. "I can sorta understand covering the scar, but what's the black for?" he said, pointing out a disk of black makeup Judith had pulled out.

"That's eyeliner." she said, putting down the foundation and picking up the black. "Both men and women wear it in formal occasions, it brings out the intensity of eye color."

Several minutes of careful, delicate work and Yuri was ready. The finished look was spectacular, long flowing robes of dark, deepest violet with shimmering patterns of silver, his hair rich and glossy with diamond ornaments shining dark purple, and his eyes outlined with the thinnest lines of black that made the color, same as his diamonds, stand out.

The only comment came from Raven.

"Damn, he cleans up nice."

Rita smacked him.

-xXx

True to Judith's prediction they pulled into Dhangrest's river harbor six hours after her initial statement. Stepping out onto the decks, the group's appearance stunned all in the vicinity.

Judith had dressed herself in a swallowtail skirt over dark blue leggings and a long sleeved version of her normal top, but the front of the bodice was more conservative. Her lilac hair was left in a high tail to trail to her hips, and the streaming strands of blue gathered into it as well. Her krytian ears were revealed to the group to be extensions, her real ears only half the standard length, coming to delicate points. She outlined her eyes in thicker lines of black than Yuri, and put rich pink color on her lips.

Together she and Yuri looked stunning as a pair, every inch Umoujin nobility. The harbor master nearly lost his composure before sending his fastest runner with a message to the Don.

'An Umourian envoy has arrived, and they look important!'

The party walked slowly through town, a pace set not to aggravate Yuri's extensive injuries. By the time they reached Union Headquarters the Don was well prepared to receive his guests.

Coincidentally there was also Imperial presence. Ioder was working with the Don on the treaty.

Ever gracious, the Imperial Prince bowed respectfully to the visitors before noticing Estelle with a start.

"Estelisse! What are you doing with an Umourian envoy?" he asked, stunned.

The Don also voiced his confusion. "I'd like to know as well, what's a princess like yourself doing with these people when you're supposed to be with Yuri Lowell's group?"

Estelle remained silent, only glancing at Yuri shyly.

"I am Yuri." he said, stepping forward. "The name Yuri Lowell is an alias I have used for ten years. I am Hoshino Vesperia, crown prince of the Umoujin royal line."

Ioder faltered. "Excuse me, you're a...prince?"

The Don, however, rumbled a laugh. "Heh heh, I should'a noticed before." he chuckled. "If it weren't for your colorin' you'd be the spitting image of your mother. Great woman, Hosenka."

Yuri quirked a brow in question. "You've met my mother in person?"

"Yep, I got to visit your city a couple years back. Now, what're you here for, dressed up like that?"

"One, I am returning your grandson." said Yuri, waving Harry forward. "He has something to confess to, and I have bad news."

"Harry? What have you been doing?"

Harry looked positively miserable. "Grandfather, I've made a horrible mistake." he said. "I heard from Leviathan's Claw that a monster with apatheia had captured Belius, so I hired the Hunting Blades to help rescue her."

Whitehorse's eyes widened. "You didn't..."

"He did. Your grandson did not know Belius was an Entelexia, and neither did the Hunting Blades. They attacked the Coliseum on the first night of the new moon. Half of Palletralle's forces protecting the city fell in the battle, mostly to guildsman blades." reported Raven solemnly. "I nabbed the kid here on our way out."

"Is Belius alright?"

Yuri hung his head and motioned to Judith. She brought out a wrapped parcel, and undid the binding to reveal the cyan crystal that was Belius's apatheia.

"No...is that...?"

"Belius died in battle." said Yuri. "I was wounded in the fight, and princess Estelisse attempted to heal me, not knowing her special power resonates dangerously with apatheia. The reaction drove Duce Belius out of control, and she went feral. I...I was forced to put her down."

Judith rewrapped the crystal in it's covering. "She died quickly, and still in possession of her own mind. There was no way for us to reverse her feral state, we had no other option than to honor her last wish."

"Than the actions of Altosk led to a guildmaster's death...this isn't good. When did this happen?"

"The night before last."

Ioder blinked. "That soon? How on earth did you make it here so fast?"

Rita stepped forward. "Our ship's engine blastia was recently replaced with a new model. I examined the new formula, and found it to be highly unstable and incomplete. The formula reacted with the apatheia to boost the engine's output by a factor of ten. The engine is now being dismantled because of possible aer anomolies caused by the unstable formula, similar new formula blastia are just as much a danger all over the empire. Aer fluctuations are dangerous to the balance of the ecosystem and cause massive discrepancies in the normal function of everyday occurrences, the monster surge attacks last month for instance."

Whitehorse raised a brow. "You're positive of this?"

"Yes. The Aer Krene, the sources of the world's aer, have been over-producing aer in response to the increased drain. Low levels are one problem, but overabundance is even deadlier." Rita said, voice grave. "I still have more tests and observations to make before I can predict certain kinds of effects of this phenomenon, but I am certain of the danger this poses."

"The Hermes model blastia are a danger to the stability of our world, but we have more immediate problems to deal with." said Yuri sharply. "This matter of Belius' death must be resolved before more lives are claimed here."

Judith tapped him on the shoulder gently. "Hoshino, you should sit down, you're looking very pale. Don, can we move this discussion to another room, Hoshino needs to rest because of his injuries."

The guildmaster nodded. "We can talk in the meeting hall." he said, getting out of his chair and leading the way. "Our prince here doesn't look so good."

The large group relocated to the much larger room, furnished with a massive conference table. The Don gracefully offered Yuri his larger, more comfortable seat at the head of the table and ordered that a Umourian master healer be found as soon as possible, as well as refreshments for what would surely be a very long discussion.

-xXx

Hours passed, arguments flying back and forth as more guild leaders and delegates were brought in.

Eventually Yuri got tired of the bickering and made a loud thunderclap sound with a snap of mana, shocking the hall into silence.

"Enough, we aren't getting anything done here. The fact remains that a guildmaster is dead because of the actions of no fewer than three guilds, and Pallestralle's numbers have been halved in the massacre." he bit out, voice sharper than his blades. "Leviathan's Claw gave Altosk incomplete and misleading information, that a 'monster' with an Apathea was in Nordepolica. Altosk contracted the Hunting Blades to assist in killing this monster, but without verifying the information received from an obviously dubious source, while the Hunting Blades went on in their usual bull-headed fashion killing everything in their paths. While the three guilds triggered the events that lead to the Duce's death, the actual act of her execution was carried out by myself as her last sentient request."

"Wait, _you _killed the Duce?" asked one guildmaster. "Then shouldn't we be seeking retribution from you?"

"No. Prince Hoshino was acting on Belius' wishes. Entelexia cannot recover from such deeply feral states, and would rather die than become senseless monsters." Judith said, silencing the chatter that the guildmaster's comment incited. "Given that the Duce has had a close relationship with the Umoujin royal family for decades, a copy of her Last Will should be in the royal archives, this document will be brought before you in a few weeks time and the matter should be clearly outlined. Please be patient until the Will can be safely brought here, and keep in mind that the royal family is also involved, so normal guild procedure is void in this situation."

All the gathered guildsmen backed down, even the more volatile of their numbers were cowed by the sheer pressure of politics. In the silence, the Don stood up.

"If we're done discussing the subject, I have another topic of interest." he said, getting everyone's attention. "I have heard that the prince here has a guild of his own, isn't that right?"

Yuri nodded. "Yes. I intend to make this a warrior's guild for my people, a regiment of fighters in this time of unrest. Brave Vesperia will also serve as a point of contact between the guilds of Dhangrest and the Umoujin, something that has not existed before. Do the guildmasters have any objection to this?"

There was a general murmer of agreement, and the matter was accepted, a motion made and carried to recognize Brave Vesperia as the new master guild in replacement of the now defunct Blood Alliance. With that taken care of the meeting was adjourned and everyone was dismissed. Once the hall was cleared the guildmaster of the healer's guild, called Blessed Ring, approached.

"Your highness, are you well?" he asked, taking Yuri's hand and feeling his pulse, face reflecting his concern. "You are feverish and your heart is beating irregularly, what in the god's name have you done to yourself?"

Yuri chuckled quietly. "Aer Poisoning would do that to a person master Tachi, but yes, it's nice to see you again too."

The guildmaster, Tachi, met Yuri's eyes with a rueful smile. "Well met my prince, but we must take you to more comfortable quarters, I need to examine you properly. Master Whitehorse, may we use the guest rooms on the ground floor?"

The Don nodded and sent a servant to get the rooms prepared. "No problem, don't think he should be climbing stairs anyway if he's looking that pale. You look like you lost a lot of blood prince."

"You don't know the half of it."

-xXx


End file.
